13 Days of Team HLWN
by rwbycollab256
Summary: A collection of 13 one-shots for Halloween occurring within the world (canon and Au) of RWBY. They'll either be about Halloween, something associated with Halloween, or something like that. It'll be rated T, but may get changed to M. Characters will vary, of course. Stories will be by Haley Earthstone and BatmanRules256, with one Anonymous submission.
1. Ghost of a Chance

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own RWBY or its characters. This will also hold for the following 12 chapters.

 **A/N:** This was an idea BatmanRules256 and I came up with. Not this particular story, mind, but the concept of a Halloween-themed collection of 13 one-shots for the month of October. Each one will deal with something related to Halloween – ghosts, vampires, werewolves, horror, etc. – and will be self-contained unless otherwise stated.

13 Days of Team HLWN – Part 1: Ghost of a Chance

"Ruby, shut the door! Shut the door, you dolt!" Weiss screamed as the….thing came at them at a fast run. The crimsonette girl in the worn and tattered cloak slammed the oak door shut as hard as she could, turning a knob that engaged a lock. And just in time, too, as the creature slammed into the door with enough force to actually dent the three-inch-thick wooden door. The two teens lean against the strong door, panting, before sliding down it to sit on the floor against it.

"What….in Oum's name….was _that_?!" the white-haired girl panted, trying to get her heartrate down.

"At least it was a small one," Ruby offered helpfully, not even panting. Her remark – and her non-breathless state – earned her a glare from the other girl. "What?"

"You know…what that…thing is?" Weiss asked.

"Not a clue. But they're nothing new around here, really."

"That's the…first time…I've seen one! And it…ripped that…other thing into…bloody pieces!"

"Yeah! I mean, did you see how it just ripped it's stomach open and-" She was interrupted by Weiss turning to the opposite side of her and evacuating her stomach.

"You….ass!" the shorter girl swore after she'd finished, wiping her face and chin with the cloth proffered by her companion.

"Um, sorry," Ruby answered sheepishly. "I, uh, forgot you're new to this."

"I have to get out of here!"

"Hey, I'm trying to help with that, you know! It's not my fault you got trapped in here!"

Weiss went to argue, but stops because she knows Ruby is right. If it hadn't been for the crimsonette finding her that first day she'd gotten trapped in this place, she knew she'd have died.

"I-I'm sorry," Weiss said contritely, feeling ashamed of herself.

"It's okay. You're scared and all, so there's nothing wrong with losing it. And it's not like I'm immune to it, I just….can't vomit."

"What do you mean, you can't?"

"Is that really important at this point?"

"Well, we've been here for a few days now, and I know almost nothing about you."

"Weiss, duck!" Ruby shouts, yanking the now-yelping girl down as a massive clawed paw punches through the door where her head had once been.

"Dust!" the other girl yelped as she scrambled away, followed by her companion.

"You can say 'fuck,' you know!" the crimsonette quipped.

"That's so uncouth!"

"Un-what?"

"It means impolite, you dolt!"

"Then why didn't you just say that?"

"Aarrgghhh!" Before Weiss could say anything further, the door shattered under the weight of the creature on the other side. It stood much taller than both of the girls – they about half the height of the monster – and its head was covered with a bony plate, and various protrusions of bony spikes from its arms, shoulders, and back. Its glowing red eyes locked onto the two teenagers and it let out a soul-chilling roar. Before it leapt at them, Ruby had yanked Weiss backwards and pulled her through another door, this one showing a long and narrow hall that was bordered by windows on one side and doors on the other.

"What kind of place _is_ this?!" the white-haired girl shrieked.

"You're better off not knowing, princess," Ruby replied.

" _I_ am _not_ a princess, _I_ am an _heiress_ ," she retorted, affronted.

"Yeah, yeah, it doesn't matter in here, now come on!" The crimsonette tugged the heiress along, pulling her down the hallway as the door to the room they had just been in pretty much exploded when the creature slammed _through_ it. It moved after them faster than they could run, and was almost upon them when Ruby yanked them both to the floor which caused it to move over them – surprisingly not stepping on them in the process. Before it could slow and turn around, Ruby had the two of them back on their feet and through a door. She didn't stop moving, either, but kept on going.

"Where….are we…..going?" Weiss asked, beginning to run out of breath again.

"We're getting you out of here," Ruby told her.

"What?! But…what about…what about….you?"

"Not everyone gets a second chance, Weiss."

"No! I won't go without you!" Ruby sighs at this, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Weiss, you can't stay….and I can't leave."

"But why not? Ruby, I-"

"Weiss, I told you when I first saved you not to fall in love with me," the crimsonette said sadly. "I told you it wouldn't work out."

"But you never said why! Why can't we be in love?! Ruby, I've been stuck in this place for days now, with only you! I've seen….I've seen people get ripped apart! Gutted! Eaten! You've kept me safe! You've cared for me! How…how can I not fall in love with you?" That last was said quietly, her vulnerability and emotions naked and bare.

It really broke Ruby's heart. Especially as she knew it wouldn't work out.

Before she could think further on it all, or even try to explain to Weiss why it wouldn't work out for them, she found her lips occupied with the heiress's own. Her eyes widened impossibly huge as the other girl's arms came up around her neck – and her own arms naturally wrapped around Weiss's waist to pull her closer. The kiss only ended when Weiss pulled back for air. _This will only end in disaster_ , Ruby thought, gazing into the ice blue eyes before her, _for her._ But she didn't say anything, instead moving to take Weiss's hand and lead her out of the room, trying to lose the creature after them.

Or, more accurately, after _Weiss_ ; since she hadn't had a problem with it until the white-haired girl had gotten trapped in the massive building. It wasn't the first time this had happened, and she was hoping to spare her the fate others had suffered. All of the people they'd seen killed over the last few days were others who had been trapped in the huge square foot area two-level building.

"Ruby?" Weiss asked, drawing the crimsonette out of her thoughts. "Where are we going?"

"To a way out of here," she answered.

"But we've tried all of the doors out of the mansion."

"On the ground floor, yes. But I have an idea, and we'll need to up to the second floor for it."

"The…second floor?" Ruby could hear the trepidation in Weiss's voice, and understood it fully; down on the first floor all they had to worry about were – strangely – the larger creatures, of which the wolf-like one was probably in the mid-range of sizes. The second floor had the smaller creatures, which were much more numerous and much more dangerous.

"We move fast, we don't stop, and you should be fine."

"What about you?"

"You don't need to worry about me; I'll be fine."

Weiss didn't get a chance to say more as Ruby ran them out to the foyer of the place, then up the wide stairway to the second floor. By this point, even though they'd avoided the second floor after the first day or so, they knew what was up there.

Suffice to say that, until this place, Weiss had never been afraid of spiders. But seeing ones with bone-like plates and spike-like protrusions and about the size of a medium dog changed that. And now she and Ruby were running through hall after hall and room after room of them – with no less than fifteen in each place. Ruby led them into what Weiss assumed was a dead end.

"This is wonderful. We come up to the one level we've avoided for days, where there are things worse than those beasts, on the chance that there's an escape, only to find nothing."

"Was that sarcasm?"

"Of course it was, you dolt! We're trapped here and about to be eaten by giant bone armor spiders!"

"Nah, we'll be fine. Well, you'll be fine." With that, Ruby reaches into a large wardrobe…..and pulls out a large scythe with a long black and red handle.

"What the Dust is that?!" Weiss shrieked in shock.

"Seriously, just say 'fuck' or 'hell,' Weissy," Ruby replied.

"You just pulled a massive staff knife thing out of a closet-"

"Wardrobe, not closet."

"-and _that's_ what you're worried about?!"

"It's a war-scythe, not a 'staff knife thing."

"Does it really matter?!"

"Look, Weiss, there's a lot you don't know or understand, and honestly I'm more worried about getting you out of here alive than explaining everything."

"But what about-" Weiss was cut off by Ruby's lips on her own, a moan escaping her as their feelings were expressed through that kiss far more eloquently than words could ever achieve. A whine of disappointment escapes her as Ruby pulls back.

"I wish things were different, Weiss, I really do. It just won't work. But…I do love you. Goodbye."

"Wha-" The snow-haired girl didn't get a chance to finish as she suddenly found herself being shoved backwards with surprising force. Stumbling over her suddenly off-balance feet, she managed to see Ruby whirling around, bringing her war-scythe into a ready position, as a horde of those bone-spider-things burst through the door. She didn't get to see more as she tripped over something and felt herself falling over backwards and down a long way…

~Team HLWN~

Weiss groaned and shifted, her head feeling like someone had been using it to play Griffball with. As she turned over onto her side, she felt a tug on her arm. Her eyes snapped open and she bolted upright, almost shrieking in fear until her eyes registered that she was in a hospital room.

"Weiss, you're awake," a relieved-sounding voice said from her right. Looking over, Weiss saw her sister, Winter, standing up from a chair that was next to the hospital bed she was in.

"Winter?" she asked, confusion lacing her voice. "What….what happened? What am I doing here? Where….where is Ruby?"

"You're in the hospital, Weiss. You were found in some kind of….well, old dump area. The kind that were used for the houses of the rich and wealthy about a hundred years ago or so."

"I don't understand. And…why can't I see well?"

"There's a bandage over your left eye, Weiss. No one really knows what happened to you, or how you got hurt, but the doctors examined your eye while you were unconscious and said that you'll only be dealing with a minor loss of vision in that eye."

"But where's Ruby?" Weiss asked.

"Ruby who?" Winter inquired.

"Ruby Rose is what she said her name was. I can't….I can't really remember much, but I remember being trapped someplace with her. There were these….creatures around, trying to kill us," she replied, her mind feeling fuzzy.

"Well, you were unconscious for several days, and-"

" _Days?!_ Winter, we have to go back for-"

" _You_ aren't going anywhere, sister dear. It seems as though you had a rather vivid dream – or nightmare, rather – while you were unconscious, and-"

"It wasn't a dream! It really happened!"

"Calm down, Weiss. Take a deep breath, alright?" Weiss nods and does so, more than once, and exhales with a sigh.

"It really happened, though, Winter. I didn't imagine it."

"If it will help, I will investigate that name you gave me. Honestly, I am not arguing that you are imagining those events, but they do defy reality." Winter leaned over and hugged her sister. "Truly, though, I am glad you are awake. I could not stand losing the only family I have left."

~Team HLWN~

Weiss was released from the Vale Memorial Hospital a couple of days later, the bandages replaced with a white eye-patch bearing the Schnee family crest; the medication she had been on had dilated her pupils so she also had darkened shades, the eye-patch being necessary to protect her injured eye further. Winter assisted her sister into the car, somewhat surprised that she wasn't putting up a fuss about being helped. As they drove away, Weiss noticed that they weren't taking the route home. She looked at her sister, curious.

"As I said a few days ago, I researched that name you told me," Winter responded to her unspoken question. She picked up a file from the space between them and handed it to Weiss. "That contains everything I learned," she continued, "but to summarize it: Ruby Rose was, indeed, a real person…approximately one hundred fifty years ago." She felt her sister's shocked gaze on her. "It was back during the Grimm Wars, which our own ancestors also fought in. She was killed in one of the last battles. From the description you gave me yesterday, I determined the location was an old palatial mansion outside of Vale City. It was precisely the kind of structure that had a series of garbage chutes that led to exactly where you were found."

"Are you saying that-"

"What happened to you wasn't a dream. Nor was it some sort of temporal relocation. And what is left of the mansion is still there. Far more than unsafe for anyone living to go into, but still standing for the most part. What were you doing there, anyway?"

Weiss frowned. "I….don't remember." She looked up as they neared approached the mansion and stopped. She saw, for herself, that it was both the place she'd been trapped in for days and yet not. _"Whatever you do, Weiss, just…don't fall in love with me, okay?"_ Ruby's words echoed through her mind, as did that last kiss.

"Apparently, this place has also been the source of more than a few deaths over the decades since the war ended," Winter said, intruding into her sister's thoughts. "Evidence over those same decades showed that those deaths were caused by vicious creatures of some kind – or some kind of psychotic monster that isn't much better than the extinct Grimm."

Weiss wasn't listening any longer; her eyes and attention were completely locked onto the photo in the file Winter had given her. The photo, made with an ancient camera and having been digitally restored based on historic records, showed the exact person that Weiss had spent several days with, had fallen in love with and kissed.

"I kissed a ghost."

 **THE END?**


	2. Chapter 2

Trick or Treat

Ruby and Yang walked down the row of houses, knocking on the doors and asking for candy like the rest of the kids.

"Yaaang, my feet hurt!" Ruby whined, the eight year old leaning on her ten year old sister. Her Grimm Reaper costume was dragging on the ground as she leaned her weight on Yang.

"Geez, Rubes, quit whining!" Yang said, putting Ruby over her shoulder, which was easy despite her boxing gloves and boxer's costume. "I'll carry you. We got one more house to hit."

"This had better be good." Weiss said sternly, her white princess outfit being held up by her hands. "You promised that the last one was the last one."

"We're gonna hit the old Belladonna house." Yang said.

"The h-h-h-haunted one?" ruby asked, her voice squeaking.

"Duh." Yang said. "They gotta have great candy if it's that haunted."

"I don't think you get the idea of a deserted house." Weiss said.

"Yeah, I do." Yang said. "It means they probably give ice cream and cookies. But, there was a story that the owners of the house died in there and their ghosts haunt the place.'

"Cookies?!" ruby exclaimed, her head shooting up.

"Yes." Yang said, grinning. "Let's do it."

"Okay!" Ruby grinned.

"You two had better not be leading us to our deaths.' Weiss said.

"Nah, better." Yang said as they arrived at the broken down and falling apart house. "Here it is."

"This place is scary." Ruby said, hiding her face in her hood.

"They say a werecat lives here." Yang said.

"What on earth is a werecat?" Weiss said with a scoff. "A cat werewolf?"

"Duh, Weiss." Yang said as if it was obvious. "What else would it be?"

"Whatever." Weiss said, crossing her arms as they walked up to the door. "Oh, look, it's locked. Let's go."

"Nah." Yang said, kicking the door. "We just gotta push it open."

The door opened with a creak, allowing the three to enter.

"The sun's starting to go down." Weiss said. "You know we are not supposed to be out after dark."

"We'll be back in plenty of time.' Yang said. "It'll be fine."

"Whatever." Weiss said. "Just let's explore and leave."

"Fine.' Yang said. "Let's hurry. I'm hungry."

Suddenly, the door slammed shut behind them, Ruby jumping on top of yang's head and curling up into a ball. She began whimpering and sniffling as if she were about to cry.

"It'll be fine, Rubes." Yang said. "we'll get cookies soon."

"P-pwomise?" Ruby asked with a shaky voice.

"I promise.' Yang said.

"Okay." Ruby said.

The three began to walk… well, Ruby remained on Yang's head.

A long, low meow startled the three as they continued through the depths of the house.

"What was that?!" Ruby exclaimed, shrieking.

"I don't know." Yang said. "But, it wasn't anything scary."

"You're shaking." Weiss said.

"So are you." Yang said.

"I know." Weiss said, feeling her goosebumps.

The meow sounded again as a figure jumped down in front of them. It was about the size of an adult and covered in dark purple fur. The eyes of the figure were golden and shaped like a cat's and it had a cat's ears and tail along with claws.

"What are you doing in my home?" It growled in a purring, yet threatening voice.

"Wh-wh-what are you?!" Ruby wailed, crying.

"I am the beast that emerges when the moon is full." The figure said as the moonlight fell on her. She stood up, stalking toward the three children, who screamed and ran away back towards the door.

However, another creature jumped down, trapping them in between the two.

They began banging on the door, watching as the feline creature continued walking toward them, picking all three up and growling at them.

"Wh-what are you gonna do with us?" Ruby peeked out at the creature.

"We're going to eat you!" The cat creature said, picking them up as the other creature came closer.

"Noooooo!" the three screamed, breaking free of the monster's grip and running back to the Rose household, where out stood five angry adults: Summer and Qrow Branwen, Glynda and Raven Bran-wich (obviously Raven's idea), and Winter Schnee, who were all glaring at their respective charges.

"Where were you?!" Raven demanded, picking Yang up by her hair and holding her up with ease. "It's way past your bedtimes!"

"W-we were at the Belladonna home and we got lost and there was a kitty monster and we ran back here" Ruby rambled, sobbing as she jumped into Summer's arms.

"Kitty monster?" Qrow asked. "And I thought I had some crazy ideas."

"You do." Summer said. "ruby, there's no kitty monster."

"Ruby must have seen a large cat." A silky smooth voice came as two figures walked down the sidewalk.

"Bake?" Ruby asked, peeking out at the figure, who was dressed up like a cat with another, near identical woman who was dressed like a sorceress. "Cinny?"

"Of course, little rose." Cinny, er, Cinder, said. "It's us. We saw you three walking around by ourselves and we figured we'd make sure you were okay."

"Yes." Blake said. "And, we followed you back here when you saw a large cat and ran."

"It was so scary!" Ruby wailed. "Werecat scary!"

"Don't worry, Ruby." Cinder purred stroking Ruby's face. "There's no monsters in that house. We used to live there. It's perfectly safe."

"Our parents just kept a large amount of cats." Blake said. "There's no such thing as a werecat."

"And, if there was" Cinder smirked. "It would only eat bad little girls."

"Me no bad girl?" Ruby asked.

"Of course not." Blake said, her and Cinder both blinking as their eyes turned to cat's eyes and glowed slightly. The three children saw this and jumped, shocked. "Because if it was real, it would have eaten you up, costume and all."

"Tata." Cinder and Blake said, walking into the night behind them. Only the three small children saw it, but they couldn't quite believe it as they saw the full moon come out and the tail that Blake wore twitched as well as the ears she wore.


	3. Guest Submission

Vale: October 30th, 10 hours to midnight

A sweet and kind looking girl with black hair the bangs in the front are red as blood, dressed in a red-black goth-like dress, she also had black knee-high boots, but the most fun thing about her are her silver eyes. Meet Ruby Fucking Rose

"Watch your language!" An innocent voice said from nowhere (How is that possible?) "Because I am Ruby Rose, the sweetest girl around." (Right back to the story)

Currently Ruby was holding a wooden box while sitting very near the edge of town waiting for the postman. After waiting an hour, the guy arrives looking at the girl before asking, "Ain't you the kid that uses the big scythe?"

The girl who could make anyone unable to fight just by doing the silver-eyed pout responded nicely, "Yep that's me and, I need you to deliver this right away." To bribe him to make the delivery today Ruby pulled out a bag of candy and giving it to him.

*3 hours later*

Ruby arrived in her, room looking around for her box that held the ultimate prank on her bed, laid the wooden box. "Ruby where have you been?" a voice called behind our hero sounding annoyed.

The voice belonged to a girl with snow white hair, blue eyes, and dressed in a thigh-length strapless dress with a faint color gradation from white to pale blue at the hem. Weiss Schnee.

Beside her, a long-haired blond with purple eyes wearing a tan jacket that bares her lower stomach, with golden brown piping and short, puffy sleeves with black cuffs that feature two gold buttons. Yang Xiao Long, Ruby's half-sister.

Finally a girl with long black hair, amber eyes a ribbon tied with a large bow on the top of her head, which hides her cat ears wearing a black buttoned vest with coattails and a single silver button on the front. Underneath this is a white, sleeveless, high-necked, crop undershirt and white shorts with a zipper on the front of each leg. Blake Belladonna the Faunus cat.

Ruby gave her friend Weiss a look. "I was getting stuff for tomorrow, Its Halloween!" Ruby was hyped up and jumping around.

"Well you got a package Sis," Yang said pointing to the box.

Blake grabbed the box and, read the address only saying where it was from, "Scarab Hill, Bodega Bay Inn, never heard of it."

Ruby took the box and pretended to look surprised while opening it up. In the box, lay a doll with pitch black hair, light skin, the fingers looked to be and could move, the outfit was an ash colored dress and shoes, the thing that made the three members look slightly scared was it had fire looking, eyes and no mouth.

Blake stared it in the eyes swearing it was pure evil, Yang, thought it would make a good, target and Weiss said its hair was hideous. (Boy do they have it coming!)

*Midnight October 31*

Everyone was asleep unaware of the hell about to befall them, Cinnamon, as Ruby called her creation started moving, getting down from her creator's bed Cinnamon grabbed little gloves, a bottle of chloroform with a rage, and a bottle of hair dye, getting, to work on Weiss first

Cinnamon made quick work on Weiss then moved to Blake and Yang, scissors in hand.

*October 31st 9:00 A.M.*

Ruby was dreaming sleeping in peace was scared awake by a shriek belonging to her white-haired teammate. Within seconds everyone was awake and laughing at Wiess no longer with no longer snow white-hair but now hot pink. (lucky no class huh?)

Blake was going for her bow but noticed it cut to shreds. "What the hell happened to my Ribbon?"

"Wow, that's a...what the fuck?!" Yang yelled seeing herself in torn night clothing, with everyone but Ruby who is pretending to be shocked, though after seeing her creation having pink dye plus a piece of Blake's ribbon.

Weiss pointed Myrtenaster at the doll with Blake swearing the thing was possessed, and Yang searched for her Ember Celica.

Seeing no way out the doll made, a run for cover under Blake's bed making everyone jump, a few seconds later bullets started flying at them, Blake knew it was her weapon Gambol Shroud.

"Its trying to kill use with my Gambol Shroud! Told you evil!" Blake yelled to her team all dodging bullets most aimed at Weiss.

Weiss screamed, "Ruby who sent this evil creation?!" Ruby could not answer due to the bullets but would never tell. Yang had enough, grabbing Cresent Rose making Ruby cry due to someone touching her sweetheart.

"Die you evil demon!" Yang yelled firing the red weapon destroying the wall and bed with the doll running in front of the door. Yang, shot another round missing destroying the door instead,

The dark creation ran through the giant hole leaving all but Ruby very pissed. Getting in their clothes at high speed, noticing the strands of the dress of the target they were off. The team minus Ruby were getting looks.

"Why are everyone giving us looks?" Weiss asked with Yang and Blake side by side Blake wearing a hat because of her ribbon. Ruby looked back to her team bursting into, a deep, hard laugh.

Yang and Blake got dressed too fast to notice that their clothes had been, cut. Blake's pants and panties had holes in them in her pants showing her tail and ass. Yang's low-cut yellow crop top had two holes showing her pink nipples.

The doll hit a dead end soon it heard yells of rage soon seeing two, very angry pissed off girl's starting to unload all their ammo into the doll destroying, it. Ruby saw the last scene making her want to cry at her creations death. Back in the room, the team celebrated the death of the demon doll, well Ruby was missing saying she wanted to buy candy.

"You know it just dawned on me Ruby, was the only one who didn't get messed with by the demon," Blake voiced sowing her pants up.

Yang spoke up, "Yeah you're right she didn't get messed with...you don't think?"

"She planned such a diabolical plan to get to us," Weiss finished Yang's sentence trying to get the pink out of her hair.

The three looked at each other. "Nah!" all three said together. Ruby would never pull something like that or have the brains to come up with such a plan or even have someone to do it.

*October 31st 10:15 P.M.*

In a dark warehouse, Ruby stood on a walkway, below her at least one hundred boxes. "It's time my angel's, to rise!" The boxes started to shake then large cracks showing seconds later with smoke rising from the cracks; Ruby began to laugh insanely as her army awoke ready to do as she commanded.

(Okay Ruby is one crazy fucker) *gun firing* (Ow! What the...Ruby?!) "I am, not crazy!" *fires more rounds* (Mercy! Ow, Ow, Ow! *sobs* Why?) "Because I'm adorable."


	4. TogetherForever

**A/N:** Here's the third installment of 13 Days of Team HLWN. Just to clarify, these stories won't be updated daily for 13 days, as they have not been pre-written.

 **Together….Forever**

When Winter returned to her home late that night, it never occurred to her that anything was wrong. Even though her brother was supposed to have been visiting, there was no evidence anyone was in the house other than herself. The unnatural silence should have been the eldest Schnee's first clue. Although to be fair, she had had a hard day at work, plus dealing with guy she'd dumped the day before. It was the third guy she'd tried to date and only ended up breaking up with. She'd try her best, but things only seemed to last two months before she ended up ending things; then it'd be a month for her to get herself back together and find someone else. Or, rather, for her brother to find someone else. Sure, he was the youngest of the Schnee siblings, but he always tried to help – even if his motivation for doing so was to put him in a good position. By this point she had figured out that each of the guys he 'found' were, in fact, the sons of prominent businessmen whose companies had dealings with Schnee Industries. First was Cardin Winchester, who seemed to think he was Oum's gift to women and she should be having sex with him to thank him for even noticing her; she'd busted his balls – literally – when he dared to lay a hand on her. Second was Roman Torchwick, who was a nice enough guy except he thought he was smooth and charming but came off as sleazy and conniving. The last one was Neptune Vasilias, who was like some sick combination of Roman and Cardin, except he flirted with anything around him that had breasts and legs for miles. Then he had the _nerve_ to show up at her job today, at the busiest time when everyone was around, and told her with a suave and meant to be charming smile that he would forgive her for her behavior towards him if she would meet him at a hotel for some 'quality time.' Fortunately – for him – the police arrived to escort him away before she'd done too much damage.

"Whitley?" she called out, finally noticing that she hadn't been greeted. She shuddered, as though she'd had a momentary cold spell, but she couldn't find a reason. Trying to shake off a small feeling of unease, she went into the living room where he would usually be – and found it empty. Her brow furrowed in confusion, she walked through the living room passing by a red leather chair and into the back area of her apartment. In all honesty, though, it was actually a double-apartment since a renovation a couple of years back had combined her apartment with the one next to it. She paused by the doorway, though, when one of the wall decorations caught her eye. She felt her heart clench when recognition shot through her at the sight of the red rose emblem.

"Ruby," she whispered, feeling tears gather in her eyes. It had been almost two years since her girlfriend's death, two years since a random car accident had claimed her life. Whitley hadn't liked the younger girl much, always claiming that she was only after the Schnee name and she _definitely_ wasn't of the right social class to marry into their family. But he'd been there ever since the crimsonette's death.

" _Win-teeerrr,"_ echoed back, startling the white-haired woman completely. _"Oh, Wiiiiiin-ter."_

"Ruby?" _There's no way_ , she thought. _Ruby's dead._

" _That's not nice, you know."_

"Okay. The stress of the day and dealing with Neptune has gotten to me. I've cracked," she muttered to herself. It was the only explanation. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw a flash of red. She turned to see what it was, but it flashed out of sight. Following it, she found herself back in the living room – and noticing the red chair.

"Wait a minute," Winter spoke to herself, "I don't have a red chair." Striding over to it, she came around to the front and felt a scream escape her before her self-control clamped down. In the chair, which should have been white as snow, was her brother.

Or what was left of him.

It looked like someone had literally cut him to ribbons with a far too sharp blade. His skin, where it was still on him, was hanging in thin, loose shreds. His muscles looked like they'd been severed from his skeleton completely, then reattached by using ribbons of skin to tie them back. His internals were nestled within his lap, though there was a gaping hole in his ribs over where his heart would be.

And his head was missing, too.

" _I'll be honest; I was surprised I found a heart inside him. With the way he acted, I would've thought he didn't even have a physical one. Live and learn, I guess. He lived long enough for me to learn, anyway."_

"What's going on here?!" Winter shrieked.

" _That should be obvious. After all, you did make that wish – and that promise."_

"This can't be real."

" _I assure you, Win, it is."_ And from a shadow steps out Ruby. Or, rather, what had been Ruby. It was wearing her clothes, and using her voice, but the thing was a skeletal figure carrying a short scythe.

"Y-You….you're not….you're not Ruby," she said, stepping back.

" _Yes I am."_ The figure pulls the hood back, revealing the emaciated – but still recognizable – features of Ruby Rose. _"Things happen when you die, you know."_ Looks at the exposed bones of her arms. _"And when someone makes promises and wishes on the wrong night."_

"Wh-What….what do you mean?"

" _You know, your brother was rather reluctant to talk to me when he showed up here. You'd think he saw a ghost!"_ Giggles in an unhinged way.

"You did this to him?"

" _He didn't do it to himself, that's for sure. The Dust-be-damned motherfucker. He had it coming. That accident that killed me? It wasn't an accident. It was murder. Your brother had me killed to get me out of the way."_ Looks at Whitley's corpse and giggles again. _"He told me everything I wanted to know, begging me to stop even as he spilled his guts. Literally."_

"Ruby, this isn't like you."

" _Of course not. Just like dating men a year after I died isn't like you. I watched, you know. I was always with you."_ Her spectrally-glowing eyes narrow into a glare. _"Even those few times you bedded those men."_

"Ruby, I-"

" _You promised, Winter. 'Together forever' is what you'd told me when you gave me that ring."_ Holds up her left hand, where an engagement band sat upon a skeletal finger. Then she points at Whitley – or what was left of him. _"He may have been your brother, but you should have remembered he only looked out for himself. And you and I getting married wasn't in his best interests."_ A sinister grin forms on her face as she turns back to Winter. _"I found them, you know. Those….men."_

"You…."

" _What? Don't understand? I_ loved _you, Winter. I can't say what I would have done if our positions were reversed, but then again….I'm not the one who made a wish on a dark star during new moon on a Friday the Thirteenth, am I?"_

"That was just a silly wish!" Winter protested.

" _Silly, was it? Sill to make a wish for love? Eternal love?"_ Now Spectre Ruby sounds a bit angry, making Winter feel as though she's standing on a hair suspended over a spike-filled chasm. _"You are a fool, Winter. Besides, I didn't stop with dear, sweet Whitless over here."_

"Wha-What?"

" _No, once I got what I wanted from him, I left him here skinned and gutted to die and went after your….boyfriends."_ Turns and walks away. _"Follow me, my love."_ Against her will, Winter finds herself following the spectre out of the living room and into the…..kitchen?

" _I bet you didn't check the oven, did you? Or what was actually cooking on the stove?"_ Winter suddenly throws up as she realizes what she's being told. Ruby claps excitedly. _"Ooooo, goody! You figured it out!"_ She lifts the lid on a huge cooking pot. _"I figured Cardin's head would be better boiled. I was surprised to find a brain in his skull; but, you know, a little bit of garlic, a little bit of butter….brains are delicious."_ Giggles again. _"Oh, and I also added some finger food to it, too."_ Puts the lid back down, then opens the oven. _"In here we have limb roasts along with anything that wasn't his guts and bones. Those I put in the trash. During our conversation he just….went to pieces. Waste not, right? Besides, you always loved the way I made my chicken."_

"Oum's balls, Ruby! You're….you're….sick!"

" _And to think I haven't shown you Roman yet."_ Winter's eyes got huge as she clamped her mouth shut, feeling more bile rising up.

"Ruby-"

" _Don't be a pussy, even though you've got one between your legs. They had this coming, and so do you."_

"M-Me?!"

" _Dust, yeah! You betrayed me!"_

"You were dead! I mourned you for a whole fucking year, Ruby! Did you expect me to stay in mourning until the day I died?!"

" _I expected you to be loyal to me,_ and yourself _, you dumb bitch!"_ Winter was shocked by Ruby's angry words. _"Guys? Really? You stood up to father to be true to yourself, yet after I died you gave into your brother's desire to try to marry you off to the sons of your family company's business partners! You didn't just betray me, or yourself; you also betrayed the memories we'd made together!"_ Walks over to the kneeling woman and jerks her to her feet. _"Now come on. It's time for you to see bastard number two. Or is it three?"_ Frowns thoughtfully. _"I suppose it's number two if we count them as people you've dated, but three if we count them as people you've let fuck your life up."_ Drags a mostly unwilling Winter along behind her, heading towards the guest room. The living woman suspected what she'd find when the door was opened, based upon what the spectre Ruby had already done, and was thankful she didn't have anything left in her stomach at the sight that greeted her. Shock had staved off the reaction to Whitley's state, but learning what had been done to Cardin Winchester had broken that shock. She still experienced severe dry heaves when she saw what had been done to Roman. His eyes had been roughly, brutally gouged out – no doubt by Ruby's skeletal fingers – open wounds around the sockets that looked like they had stopped weeping blood not too long ago. In contradiction, his veins had been expertly and surgically exposed and pulled from the body, while still remaining attached to it. His jaw had also been brutally removed, having been ripped off with supernatural strength; this left his tongue hanging down along his neck.

" _He wouldn't stop talking, you know,"_ Ruby said, letting go of Winter's arm, which allowed her to collapse to the floor again. _"And the screaming….well, that was more like music. Honestly, I really enjoyed working on him; learned he had some inappropriate pictures of you and was planning on distributing them to select magazines. He hadn't done so sooner because he had initiated a bidding war and was waiting for the prices to go up."_ Shrugs. _"Of course, I'd have killed him anyway for having the nerve to even dream of touching you, never mind that you actually let him do more than touch."_ Turns and gently grasps Winter's jaw, forcing her gaze to move up to the spectre's eyes. _"You don't know how enraged I was about that. You belong to_ me _! No one else! 'Together forever,' remember? You had it engraved on my engagement ring, too."_

"Ruby, I…..I'm sorry," she replied, sobbing.

" _Of course you are. You weren't sorry when it was going on, though, were you?"_ She didn't wait for an answer, instead grabbing Winter's arm and pulling her along again. This time, they went to the only other bedroom in the apartment, Winter's master bedroom. The living woman hesitated and tried to step backwards, afraid of what she'd find, but Ruby didn't let her.

"Please….Ruby….don't…" she begged.

" _This isn't a dream, you know. You're not going to suddenly wake up in a cold sweat, heaving as you try to gulp down lungfuls of air,"_ the spectre replied. _"Oh, and here's one last surprise."_ Ruby slams open the door to Winter's bedroom…..to reveal a beaten and bruised Neptune Vasalias tied spread-eagle on her bed.

"Neptune," Winter said softly. Sure, she didn't like the fact that he refused to acknowledge their breakup, that he kept harassing her at work, but he didn't deserve the fate she knew he would get. _Did he?_ she asked herself.

" _I'd explain why this one has to die, but I think you already know why."_ With that, Ruby took the scythe she was holding and swung it impossibly fast. For a moment neither of the two living people realized anything had happened, then blood began welling from Neptune's leg faster and faster before he began screaming. It wasn't he tried jerking around that the white-haired woman realized Ruby had cut cleanly through one of legs, severing it completely in one smooth stroke. The spectre wasn't done, of course, as she took her blade and slowly began drawing the tip down his other leg, it's impossibly sharp blade easily cutting through skin and muscle. The screams cut through Winter and she continued to beg and plead with Ruby to stop, though it was for naught. She was ignored as her reanimated fiancé continued to cut into her ex.

Ruby moved her scythe and began cutting into the blue-haired man's chest, the screams and pleas like music to her undead ears. She knew that this wasn't how she had been before, but that didn't matter now. Deciding to do something new, she swung her scythe and embedded it in her victim's gut, his and Winter's screams changing at that. She withdrew a knife from within her cloak and began cutting fingers off, one at a time and very slowly. The sheets and mattress were stained dark crimson before she was done cutting off all ten, and before she cut the hands off at the wrist.

" _Hmm, he's bleeding more than I thought. I don't know if he'll last through the fun."_

"You….y-you're a monster, Ruby."

" _No shit, Sherlock. That's thing about wishes, really; there's always a catch, a twist."_ She turned to face her beloved, her face in a too-wide grin. _"You should have listened to me when I was alive. Perhaps my fate could have been avoided, perhaps not. Who can say what might have been? It's only what is happening that can be dealt with."_

"It's my fault," Winter whispered. She had dismissed Ruby's suspicions that Whitley didn't like her, or reasoned that it was because Whitley didn't want to lose his oldest sister. Ruby had tried to tell her that the boy was jealous of his sisters, and despised them for it, but she hadn't listened. Not really. It was only now, with death literally staring her in the face, that she realized her girlfriend-then-fiancé had been correct all the time, that Ruby's instincts were spot on.

" _Perhaps it is. As I said, it's uncertain if I would have ended up dead anyway or not if you had."_ She shrugged. _"Better tell him goodbye while he's still breathing and conscious enough to hear it."_

Winter nodded and stood, staggering over to her bed sobbing, Ruby's only movement being her turning in place to watch the woman. "I'm sorry, Ruby," she said.

" _I know you are….now."_

"I promise, truly promise, that we'll be together now."

" _Together…..?"_

"….Forever." She jolted as she felt something punch through her. Looking down, she saw a blood-drenched skeletal hand sticking out from beneath her breasts…..

…..with a scream to wake the dead, Winter jolted upright in her bed. Her eyes were wide open and unseeing, her chest heaving as she gulped down deep lungfuls of air, her body and the sheets drenched in cold sweat.

"Winter?" came a sleepy voice from beside her.

"R-Ruby?" she said after shaking her head to clear it a bit.

"What's…*yawn*….what's wrong?"

"Just….just a bad….dream, that's all."

"Wan' me ta be the big spoon now?" Those words brought a smile to her face, as her crimsonette fiancé was about a foot shorter than her.

"I'd love that, Ruby." Winter laid back down and felt Ruby snuggle against her back, swinging an arm over to wrap around her abdomen. The eldest Schnee offspring sighed in relief and felt comforted and loved by her lover's embrace. Then the faint smile on her face became a frown as something impressed itself upon her consciousness; something felt off about it all. Blinking her eyes open again, Winter looked down at Ruby's arm-

-and saw a blood-drenched skeletal forearm right beneath a hole square underneath and between her breasts…

…..Ruby awoke with a scream that surely woke everyone on their floor of the apartment complex she and Winter lived in and bolted out of the bed, dashing to their in-room bathroom to begin puking her guts into the toilet. Moments later, she felt her hair gently lifted out of the way as she finished emptying her stomach.

"Are you okay now?" Winter asked sympathetically. Ruby couldn't do more than nod her head in response. Her girlfriend patted her back gently and told her, "I'll get you some crackers and seltzer water, okay?" She got up and left the bathroom. Pulling back from the toilet and moving backwards a bit until she was leaning against the sink, Ruby let out a groan and mumbled, "That's the last time I watch a horror marathon before bed."

…The End


	5. Reaper's Kiss

A re-upload of BatmanRules256's (who is one of the authors of this set of one-shots) Reaper's Kiss

There was a reason Reapers never kissed. Ruby knew that fact all too well. In fact, her mother had taught her that lesson. However, as Ruby stood on the roof of the building, watching the scene below, she had considered, for the slightest fraction of a second, of doing so. Her red cloak moved in the wind, her scythe firmly gripped in her hand as she watched, prepared to take action.

The Vampire below her had taken on the Werewolves before, but this was different. These were different. Ruby knew they were White Fangs, the most dangerous clan of Werewolves. On a normal day, Ruby would have simply waited to collect the soul of the Vampire and left. However, something about this Vampire was different. Something was… intriguing to Ruby.

Ruby dropped down to the ground, the Werewolves turning and watching her. Ruby could see the fear evident in their eyes. They knew who she was. There probably wasn't a non-human race in all of Vale that didn't know who she was. Stories of the Reaper with the red cloak spread pretty far.

"Why do you disturb us, Reaper?" One of the Fang asked.

"I've told you before, Fang." Ruby said, walking forward. "This is my territory. Leave NOW!"

The Fang left faster than most would expect. The Vampiress stared at Ruby in confusion, staring at her. Ruby took in the Vampire's image herself.

The Vampire was dressed in a simple whitish grey uniform, her feet adorned in three inch heels. Her long white hair was a little messed up from her battle. Her blue eyes pierced Ruby's soul almost, though it wasn't necessarily antagonistic.

"Planning to take my soul?" The Vampiress asked, her tone a little arrogant. "Funny, I thought the Reapers died out centuries ago."

"If I wanted your soul." Ruby said, grinning. "I'd have already taken it."

"So" The Vampiress asked. "What _do_ you want?"

"Dunno." Ruby said, shrugging. "What's a Vampire like you doing here?"

"I'm on a mission from my father." The Vampiress said, crossing her arms. "If you must know."

"Huh." Ruby said. "Well, it was nice meeting ya."

"You're a very strange Reaper." The Vampiress said.

"I've been told." Ruby said, shrugging. "Name's Ruby. Ruby of the Rose clan."

"Wait…" The Vampiress said, thinking. "Do you know a Summer Rose?"

"She was my mom." Ruby said, intrigued. "And, what is your name?"

"Weiss.' The Vampiress said.

"As in Schnee?" Ruby asked. "Small world. Our parents knew each other."

"That is interesting." Weiss said, crossing her arms. "You seem nothing like her though."

"It's a work in progress." Ruby said, shrugging.

"Who knew Summer Rose's spawn would be such a dolt." Weiss muttered.

Ruby was stunned, having absolutely no way to counter that comment.

"W-well, y-y-you're a dolt!" She retorted.

Weiss simply rolled her eyes, turning to leave.

"I do thank you for saving me though." She said, her fang bared in a small smile.

As she walked away, both girls felt a heat in their faces.

 _Some time later_

Weiss stood at the graveyard, standing there with Ruby. The two had met up once again by chance in a small diner just on the border of the human realm. They had become fast friends, Ruby's quirky nature amusing Weiss. The graves they stood in front of had been buried next to each other, four names written on them with a quote: Summer Rose, Taiyang Xiao Long, Augustus Schnee, Artica Schnee, proof that species doesn't mean hatred.

"It's not fair." Ruby said, tears flowing as she hugged Weiss. "Why did she have to go? I know why dad went. He was too old and a human. But, mom died saving me."

"What happened?" Weiss asked.

"The last thing I remember" Ruby said. "Is being attacked by Grimm. I was hurt and she… she kissed me and told me everything would be alright. That's all I remember."

"I'm" Weiss said. "I'm so sorry."

"It's fine.' Ruby said, sighing. "After this, can we go get cookies?"

"Sure, dolt." Weiss said, chuckling.

 _Some time later_

Weiss stood at the meeting. The non-human races had gathered to discuss the threat of the White Fang. They were getting bolder, even beginning to enter the human's realm.

"We should just attack them.' A Vampire said.

"Then the Revenants would just take their souls and become more powerful." A Werewolf said. "As if those monsters needed more strength. They already are the most durable and have the most longevity out of any of the races, save the Reapers."

"But, the Reapers died out with Summer Rose." A Spirit said, thinking. "If only we had someone like her. Then we'd have no worries."

"We could just take out the leaders." A lone voice said, its owner stepping into the room. "That would stop the lower grunts from getting any stupid ideas."

All heads turned to the woman that had spoken: a Reaper, dressed in a red cloak, the last of the Reapers: Ruby Rose. Weiss smiled, glad the meeting would be more lively with her.

"A Reaper?" multiple voices came from around the table. "I thought they were extinct? The Demons wiped them out centuries ago. And, that cloak. It's unmistakable."

"Who and what are you?" The leader of the meeting, Winter Schnee, current head of the Schnee Vampire family, asked. "And, what gives you the right to enter this meeting?"

"Ruby of the Rose Clan.' Ruby said, pulling out her scythe. "Daughter of Summer Rose and Taiyang Xiao Long.'

A collective gasp went up from around the room. There were only two human families that knew of the non-human world and interacted with it on a normal basis: the Xiao Long family and the Branwen family, both lost to time, though it was said there were a few that possessed their blood. They were powerful Hunters and Huntresses, humans as close to non-human as one could get. Able to summon powerful magicks and sorcery, they were capable of taking on the non-human races and each of the families could boast at least ten kills on every non-human race, including Reapers. There were rumors of a Xiao Long falling in love with a Reaper, but no one could confirm it. The scythe of Summer Rose had also disappeared with the legendary Reaper, though here it was with her supposed spawn, the girl the spitting image of Summer.

"Prove it." Winter said, snapping her fingers. Five Vampires stood up to surround Ruby. The Reaper was undeterred, her silver colored eyes flashing as the Vampires froze.

"Good enough?" She asked, grinning. She went over to a plate of chocolate chip cookies that had been made as refreshments. The Demons were enjoying some of the cookies due to their high amounts of chocolate, including a particular Demon with a more human look, even going so far as to have a brown mop of hair and human skin, clearly marking her as a hybrid. The one clue she was a Demon, however, was the blood pouring from her eyes and mouth. Somehow, it didn't stain her green and yellow sweater she wore, though the cookie crumbs did. She looked at Ruby, stepping aside as Ruby grabbed a huge handful, eating them. An Angel with a lighter mop and silvery blue eyes stood next to the Demon, stretching her wings. The Demon put an arm around her, giving her a chocolatey kiss on the lips, the Angel giggling.

"What do you mean by 'take out the leaders'?" Winter asked, looking at Ruby.

"Well" Ruby said, shrugging, her mouth full of cookies. "We find this Tauros guy they were talking about and take care of him and his generals."

"It's not that easy." A Werewolf said, standing up and shaking her head.

"Blake?" Ruby asked. "You're here too?"

"You two know each other?" Winter asked.

"She banged my sister.' Ruby said, eating a cookie, Blake blushing as Winter looked at her with an amused look. "Yang Xiao Long."

"That hothead?" Winter said. "I have to admit, she sure knew how to get a point across."

"She sure did." Ruby said, a moment of silence passing over the room. Yang Xiao Long, the most well-known of the Xiao Long clan had died a few centuries prior in the battle against the Witch Salem. Yang's apprentice, a young woman named Cinder of the Fall clan had offered to take Yang's place on the council, currently absent due to having lost her eye in a previous battle, staying home to recover. Cinder was still alive due to her Grimm heritage.

"Suppose you know where this Taurus is." Winter said. "What do you propose?"

"Take him out quickly and quietly." Ruby said. "I could take two or three people to do it. I've got my list already."

"Who were you planning on taking?" Winter asked.

"Weiss Schnee." Ruby said. "Blake Belladonna and Neapolitan"

"Neapolitan?" Winter asked. Suddenly, the Spirit next to her shifted into a short woman with ice cream colored hair and clothing.

"A shifter." Winter said, thinking. "Interesting."

Neo gave a finger gun, smirking.

"Alright." Winter said, nodding. "You have them if they wish to help you. Now, take care of it."

"Got it." Ruby said, nodding.

 _Later_

The four had stormed the base, taking out White Fang as they did. Neo and Blake split off to free any prisoners the Fang may have taken, Weiss and Ruby heading after Adam. Once they reached Taurus room, they stopped, jaws dropping at the massive amount of silver in the room. Silver was rare in the non-human realm, being mostly found in the human's realm, God's gift to humans to even the odds of their weaker race. It could harm or even kill any non-human, no matter their race or power.

"Fancy meeting you here." Adam Taurus said, smirking at them. "With a Schnee. Interesting."

"This ends here, Taurus." Ruby growled, summoning her scythe. "You've harmed enough people."

"I'm afraid not." Adam said, standing and unsheathing his sword. He and Ruby rushed at each other, sword and scythe clashing in a flurry of sparks.

"You know" Adam said, chuckling. "Your sister put up a good fight. But, I sure took care of her. Chopped her arm clean off."

"You bastard!" Ruby shouted, slamming her fist into Adam, sending him flying into a spear made of silver. Her was impaled through the heart, coughing out blood. Ruby turned towards Weiss and the two walked to the door.

Adam chuckled, pulling out a pistol, firing it at Ruby. Ruby turned, though she felt herself being pushed by Weiss. Ruby flew to the side as Weiss was pierced by the silver bullet. Her heart was injured, the Vampiress falling to the ground.

Ruby yelled her name, cradling her head on her knees.

"R-Ruby." Weiss said, her voice weak as she looked up at Ruby. "D-don't worry. I'd have done anything for you. We're f-f-friends."

"The best." Ruby said, her and Weiss both shedding tears over each other.

As Weiss kept slipping in and out of unconsciousness, Ruby knew her options were limited. She took a deep breath and did the one thing she never thought she'd do: she kissed Weiss.

Weiss fought her as best she could, but in her weakened condition, she couldn't keep the Reaper off of her. It wasn't that she didn't want to kiss Ruby, it was what happened when a Reaper kissed a being.

There was a reason Reapers never kissed. When a Reaper kissed a being, they took their soul and used it to become more powerful. However, there was a reverse effect: they could heal with their kisses. However, it drained their soul. The more severe the wound, the more of their soul would be drained away. If it happened to be a fatal wound… well…

"Ruby, no!" Weiss said through Ruby's lips, Ruby releasing her. Weiss could feel the wound healing." Why'd you do that?"

"Like you said, Weiss." Ruby said, smiling as she got into a lying down positon, Weiss sitting up. "WE're friends. Friends help friends. Please understand that."

"Ruby." Weiss said, sobbing. "Please don't leave me."

"I'm sorry, Weiss." Ruby said, smiling. "I love you too much to just let you die. I'll see you in the next life."

And, with that, the last of the Reapers closed her eyes, passing into the next world, her body turning into Dust, as all non-humans did when they died.

Weiss shed tears, some of them falling to the Dust as she gathered it up into a small jar that was nearby. Neo and Blake had arrived, seeing the jar and the crying Weiss. They understood, Blake shedding a few tears of her own.

 _Later_

The burial ritual was attended by only a few, those close to Ruby as well as Winter. As they all cried, Winter performed the ritual, sprinkling Ruby's Dust over her scythe and giving it to Weiss.

 _Later still_

Weiss walked home, clutching Ruby's scythe. She sobbed into it, holding it close. When she got home, she put it in a case and placed a plaque on it. The plaque read 'Ruby Rose: The Truest Friend'. Over the years as Weiss and Winter had offspring, they would ask of the story of the scythe, the legendary Crescent Rose. And, Weiss would tell them the story, the story of the Reaper's kiss.


	6. The Demon

**A/N:** Story number six in 13 Days of Team HLWN (and, yes, it's pronounced "Halloween").

 **The Demon**

Blake knew it was there. It was always there. Just waiting for her to mess up, make a mistake. Then….oh, then it would pounce, she knew. It would rip her apart, feast on her bones. She inched along the wall, moving slowly and silently, pausing with every step to listen for it. She heard nothing, sensed no sigh it was around, but that was just as worrisome in its own way. Being a faunus, the darkened hallways didn't bother her, as the ambient light from the slowly approaching pre-dawn gave her enough illumination.

 _Creeeak_.

The sound of a floorboard compressing under something's weight made her freeze. It was close. She could feel it, its scent beginning to flood her nostrils, her heartbeat picking up in spite of her efforts to remain calm. She cursed herself for leaving Gambol Shroud behind, and began slowly inching her way backwards. She'd only managed to move back a few feet when it came around the corner; not wasting any time, she activated her Semblance and used it to propel herself backwards as the clone took her place. Not even looking back, she dashed down the hall, springing off of a wall to go around a corner without losing her momentum. She had to get out, get away. She, and she alone it seemed, knew just what terribleness the demon was capable of.

Going around another corner, she lost her friend and tumbled and bounced down this hall when she saw the demon waiting for her. As she came to a stop and tried to get up, she knew it was too late: the beast had her. She heard its sounds of joyfully murderous intent as it approached, could smell its desire for her blood. And as she passed out, she hoped it would be quick.

"Zwei? Zwei, where are you?" Ruby called out, looking for her little corgi. He'd wandered off while she was asleep, as he was wont to do, and she was trying to find him to feed him his breakfast. When she'd woken up that morning, she was alone in her bed, too. When she came around a corner, she saw a sight that made her sigh with exasperated fondness. On the floor, unconscious, was her girlfriend of two years, with a little black and white corgi licking her face.

"Oh, Blake," she sighed, shaking her head in amusement.

The End


	7. The Party

The Party

"I can't believe I was coerced into going to this stupid Halloween party." Blake growled, the blonde seven year old ran ahead, shadow boxing with a tree. "Yang, don't get too far ahead. We're almost there."

"Alright." Yang said. "But, how come I gotta go to your dumb party?"

"Because your mom is out and Ruby is nowhere to be found… as usual." Blake said.

"She's probably kissing cinder on the lips like a weirdo." Yang said, turning with a huge grin on her face.

"Cinder?" Blake asked. "That biker chick at her college?"

"Yep." Yang grinned. "She brought her home and they did that all night and wrestled."

Blake blushed slightly, patting Yang on the head.

"Well, I'm sure she's having a good time." Blake said. "Now, let's get into this stupid party."

"Fine." Yang groaned. Blake took the seven year old into the high school she attended, Signal High, heading to the gymnasium. Inside, she saw a familiar, white haired face.

"Hey, Snowflake." She said, taking said whitehead and kissing her lips.

"You got forced here too?" the girl said, sighing, glancing at yang. "And also babysitting?"

"You got stuck with Winter?" Blake raised an eyebrow, a seven year old being jumping on by Yang. Said seven year old could be said to be a miniature of the other girl.

"Yes." Weiss sighed. "Why would our parents make us take our charges to a high school party?"

"I don't know." Blake said. "What's your mom doing?"

"Getting it on with Yang's mom." Weiss sighed.

"My mom's getting it on with a dominatrix teacher or whatever Glynda is." Blake chuckled.

"Where the hell is Ruby?" Weiss said. "We should make her watch them. Yang's her cousin after all."

"She's off with that biker chick." Blake said.

"Such a whore." Weiss said. "They have sex way too often."

"She's also got the munchies a lot." Blake snickered. "Seems she's killing two birds with that deal."

"Oh, look, a nympho weed smoker." Weiss chuckled. "I told her weed cookies were a bad idea, but noooooo, she had to try it. Now, they're her favorite even more than before."

"Yeah." Blake said. "Wait, where're Yang and Winter?"

"Crap crap crap!" Blake and Weiss ran around the party scene, trying to find the seven year olds. They eventually found Yang chugging down a large bowl of punch, the group of Nora (dressed as a mummy), the school's biggest eater (though, she was still a twig pretty much), Ren (dressed as a werewolf), the guy in the school who was zen as fuck, and Pyrrha (dressed like a vampire), who was the school athlete champion and nice girl (like waaaay too nice to be realistic).

"Chug chug chug chug!" Nora was chanting as Yang finished, slamming the bowl down and shattering it, causing Nora and Pyrrha to cheer.

"Yang, what the hell are you doing?!" Blake and Weiss shouted.

"Downin' some punch!" Yang said, throwing two punches into the air.

"Well, let's find Winter." Weiss said. "Where is she?"

They suddenly heard a quiet, soft, and angelic voice coming through the speakers. The song it was singing was a Halloween themed song, but the kid friendly version.

"Winter." Weiss said, the three heading to the stage to see the white haired seven year old singing into the mic.

"This kid's pretty good." The dj, Coco Adel (dressed as a bunny), said, chuckling. "She's got a career in front of her. My kid's not as good as her, but those rabbit ears sure help in the cute factor. If I'd known you were bringing these two, I'd have brought Velvet. She loves playin' with them."

"Well, for now, we're gonna go home." Weiss said. "It's hard enough keeping track of them at home. Here, it's hard."

"Well, better hurry." Coco said. "It's supposed to pour."

"Right." Blake said, the group heading to the door which burst open with four beefy looking boys stepping in.

"Sup nerds." Their leader said. "No babies allowed."

"Save it for gym class, Cardin." Blake said, her and Weiss heading past them, walking down the road. They made it to Blake's house just as the downpour started.

 _Later_

The Halloween movie ended, Weiss and Blake cuddled up next to each other, Yang and Winter conked out on the floor.

"I think this was a much better idea than a stupid party." Weiss sighed in contentment.

"Agreed." Blake kissed her as the two fell asleep.


	8. Reaper's Niece

**DISCLAIMER:** This one-shot was inspired by **Reaper's Kiss**. Let me note that while it may take some elements from that one-shot, it will not occur within the same alternate universe and is in fact in a separate AU from **Reaper's Kiss**.

 _Every living thing in the world is born, lives, and dies. When they're born, a 'spark' comes to exist. This spark will grow, learn, and develop. Temporals refer to it as a 'soul,' and believe that when they die, it passes on to an afterlife._

 _They aren't wrong._

 _But it isn't like a doorway appears and the soul passes through it. Well, not precisely. That's where Reapers come in. Plural, yes. Reapers are, at the most basic, soul collectors. It is their task to collect the soul of someone who dies, and carry it to judgment. The more experienced the Reaper, the more authority they have over the balance of life and death. Ultimately, they will be able to choose if a soul should pass on or not._

 _Only Grim-level Reapers have the experience and skill needed to make such a judgment call. Only they have the developed instincts to tell if calling a soul onward or leaving it in its mortal shell will be tempting Fate or not._

 _Because there are always consequences for every decision._

 **Reaper's Niece**

"Where do _we_ go when _we_ die, Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked, sharpening the blade on her scythe. The much older Reaper chuckled as he shook his head, looking over at his niece.

"Thinking about your mom again, eh, kiddo?" he replied, reaching over to ruffle her hair, making her grimace and brush his hand a hair, eliciting another laugh. "None of us really know, Rubes. While we do live forever as long as we aren't killed – the main reason why we refer to humans as 'temporals' – we're also not completely of the spirit plane. Me, I tend to think that we end up in sort of a 'neutral zone' when we die, probably what temporals call 'Purgatory.' A few seem to think we cease to exist period." He shrugs. "You just have to find what you want to believe."

"Alright, I'm ready," she told him, standing up and holding her scythe.

"You'll be on your own for this one, kid," Qrow reminded her. "No more hand-holding."

"I knooow, Uncle Qrow, okay?" Ruby whined, making her uncle chuckle at her.

Ruby stepped out of a rift a few moments later, a common technique Reapers used to transition between the spirit realm and the material plane and one that her Aunt Raven liked to abuse all the time. Blinking her vibrant silver eyes, she looked around and saw she was in a hospital room. A really fancy one. And while she saw two people in the room, she knew it was the one laying in the bed that she was here for. The woman looked really bad, but not in a 'deadly car wreck' way; it was rather obvious that she was suffering from some sort fatal illness or cancer or something. She was sleeping, but the other person in the room wasn't.

And she was staring right at Ruby.

"Who are you?" the little girl demanded, though her voice was raw and thick from crying. Her gaze moves to Ruby's scythe and her eyes widen. "You won't hurt my mom! Please don't! She…she already…." The girl starts crying again, and Ruby moves over to her, setting her scythe aside.

"Hey, it's okay, little one," she said, hugging the girl, who then clings to her. "Look, I know your mom's hurting. That's why I'm here. I'm here to take her with me."

"No! Please don't!" the girl begged her.

"Sweetie, if I don't….she would live in pain."

"But…I don't want her to go…."

"Listen, just because I have to take her to a better place, doesn't mean she won't always be with you. As long as you don't forget her."

"She….she won't hurt anymore?"

"No."

The little seems to think it over, then hugs Ruby tighter. "Will I see her again?"

"When it's your time."

"Okay. Um, I'm Weiss." Ruby isn't sure what to do in this case, as she hadn't been told that there were temporals who would be able to see her.

"I'm Ruby."

~Reaper's Niece~

Ruby stepped out of the rift, looking around. She was once again in a white room, but this one wasn't like the one from her first solo Reaping. This was a bedroom, one she had become far more familiar with than she should have ever since then. According to what she knew, Reapers were only to have contact with temporals at the moment of death; Ruby had been violating that rule for nearly a decade now.

"Weiss?" she called out, her eyes falling on the bed – and the fading person upon it. The now seventeen-year-old Schnee girl turned her head and smiled at the sight of her long-time friend. Ruby had really been the only friend the young Schnee had had, after the death of her mother.

"Hey, Ruby," Weiss replied in a quiet voice. "It's…been a while."

"Yeah, sorry about that," the Reaper said, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. "It's been a bit harder to slip away lately."

"It's business that brings you here, isn't it?" Ruby's slumping shoulders confirmed it. "I…I thought I would be more…ready for this."

"I know I'm not," the crimsonette said morosely. "I won't get to see you again after this. I'm forever stuck between the living and the spirit, and you'll pass on." She couldn't hid a sniffle as she walked over to the bed, limply pulling her scythe along with her.

"Ruby?" Weiss's tone contained confusion – and a hint of realization.

"I don't want to do this, Weiss. I don't want it to be your time," Ruby said softly. "I love you, Weiss. As in, I'm _in love_ with you."

Weiss couldn't believe it; or, rather, was so shocked at the admission since it expressed her own feelings, too. Feelings she was going to confess to Ruby before she was Reaped.

"I love you, too, Ruby," the white-haired teen confessed. "In the same way. But-"

"No, Weiss," the Reaper interrupted. "I refuse to Reap you."

"Ruby, you told me before, back when I was seven, that if you didn't Reap someone when it was their time, they'd live in suffering."

"And that's true. But I intend to…to infuse my power into. Just a bit. Just enough for you to make a full recovery."

"That sounds dangerous."

"It could be; I've never heard of it being done before. But I can't stand by and…and lose you."

Weiss closes her eyes, her breathing still shallow and her clammy skin much paler than it normally was. When she opens them again, they're swimming with tears.

"I don't want to die, Ruby. Not right now."

~Reaper's Niece~

"You have brought been before this convened council for your actions one temporal year ago," spoke the head of the council, and leader of the Reapers, Salem Grimm. Before her, and the other four members of the council, stood Ruby Rose. She was bereft of her scythe and hood, the symbols and tools of her trade. She wasn't bound in any way, though she had been held under guard since returning from Weiss's Reap without the young woman's soul.

"I don't regret anything I've done," Ruby replied, holding her head high. "I can't regret letting her continue living."

"It's not just that, Reaper Rose. It is also your act of infusing her with your essence, which is against our core rede," Salem told her. "You were held for this period of time not as an arrest but so we could deliberate your actions as well as your complete career after attaining your Reaper status."

"And you've now come to a decision?"

"We have."

"Just so you know, regardless of your decision, I don't intend to let anything keep me from Weiss," Ruby vowed. "I'll go against Fate itself, and even our progenitor, to continue seeing her, to being with her."

Salem raised an elegant eyebrow. "Truly? Hmm." She looks at the young Reaper thoughtfully. "Well, that makes our decision much easier." She smiles at Ruby's confusion. "Ruby, Weiss Schnee's Reaping was a Point of Convergence, that moment of truth where the threads of Fate past, present, and future all come together, and the next choice will affect more than just her and those around her. You are only a Reaper, and you made a decision of Fate. You chose not to Reap her soul at her time, and decided to alter Fate itself."

"I don't-"

"I'm not finished, Ruby." Salem waited for her to fall silent again. "This past temporal year was also spent observing Weiss Schnee, studying the results of your choice." She smiled now. "You made the proper decision."

"What?" Ruby blurted out in shock.

"Your contact with her since her mother's Reaping, and your decision at her own, evidenced strong instincts in regards to Fate. Because of her interactions with your, and your actions at your last contact, Weiss Schnee has defied the fate her father has decreed for her and set upon her own path. A path, we've determined, that leads to a better and brighter Fate for the temporal plane – and consequently our own." She nods to Qrow, who was standing next to the council table. Ruby's uncle returns the nod, and picks up a bundle from the table before walking over and handing it to Ruby.

"Congratulations, _Grim_ Reaper," Salem said. "Your gift is strong, and because your essence is now tied with that of Weiss Schnee, you have an anchor on that plane."

"Which means you can exist there if you want, for as long as you want," Qrow put in.

Ruby's smile would have blinded everyone present if it had been possible.

The End

 **E/N:** To reiterate, this tale is _not_ related to **Reaper's Kiss**. It is only _inspired by_. I may do a follow up one-shot or even a chapter story if y'all like this.


	9. The Costume Shop

The Costume Shop

Disclaimer: contains enabler—don't like, don't read—also, inspired by Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

"Cooome ooon, Weiss!" Ruby whined, pulling her white haired friend down the streets. "I need a costume before Yang gets me one!"

"Why don't you just let her?" Weiss asked, trying and failing to resist Ruby's pull. "You enjoy the make-up sex."

"That was supposed to be a secret!" Ruby shushed her.

"Kind of hard when we live in the same apartment building, next door to each other." Weiss said.

"True." Ruby blushed, pouting. "But, she always gets me dumb, girly costumes."

"Last I checked, you were a girl." Weiss said.

"But, these are super girly." Ruby said. "Like, tutu princess girly."

"I know, I've seen them." Weiss chuckled. "Well, you do like roleplay."

"Weiiiiiisss!" Ruby whined.

"Oh, hush." Weiss said. "Let's try this costume shop here."

"Uh, Weiss." Ruby said, looking nervous as they entered. "This shop wasn't here yesterday."

"Ruby, it's a seasonal store." Weiss said. "They're never open all year."

A black cat ran across their path, Ruby jumping.

"Ruby, it's fine." Weiss pat her. "It's just a cat."

"O-oh." Ruby said. "Well, let's just find me a costume and get out."

"Alright, alright, scaredy cat." Weiss said.

"Greetings." A seductive woman in a witch's costume said in a purring accent. "Welcome to the Grimm Desires shop. We guarantee that you'll love our costumes so much you won't be able to take them off. My name is Cinder. Feel free to ask me any questions you may have."

""So much we won't be able to take them off"? Sounds like one of Yang's pranks." Weiss rolled her eyes. "that stupid glue bottle was the worst thing she ever got."

"Amen, sister." Ruby said, groaning.

"Well, perhaps you would enjoy our more… revealing suggestions." Cinder smirked, leading the two through the surprisingly spacious costume hall to a row of seemingly skimpy costumes. "Here we are. Let's see what I can find for you two"

She moved through the rows, picking two costumes out.

"For you, my pretty" she said, stroking Weiss' face. "A demoness, specifically the demon of lust."

"Gross." Weiss said. "But, I do like the way this looks kinky."

"Ooh, Weissy gonna get it on with her girl?" Ruby teased, giggling.

"Oh, hush." Weiss flicked her nose, causing her to pout. "I think I'll try it on."

"For you" Cinder handed Ruby the costume. "A vampiress, creature of the night."

"Ooh, cool!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Follow me to the dressing rooms." Cinder motioned them to follow her. She led them through the costumes to a large dressing area. Ruby and Weiss went to separate rooms, putting on their costumes.

After they emerged from the dressing rooms, they looked at each other.

"You look so sexy." Ruby said, looking Weiss up and down.

"You two." Weiss said. "These are a perfect fit."

"Yeah." Ruby said, staring at Weiss' neck. "But, I have a strange feeling."

"Oh?" Weiss asked, surprised when Ruby bit down on her neck, beginning to suck her blood.

"What the hell?!" Weiss jumped back, holding the wound. Ruby gaped, a horrified expression on her face as she looked at Weiss' wound.

"Oh my gosh Weiss I'm so sorry I'm so sorry!" She said, applying a bandage she kept in her pocked to the wound, sealing it up somewhat.

"What happened?" Weiss asked.

"I don't know, I just saw your neck and it looked so tasty." Ruby said. "I wanted your blood."

"Gross." Weiss said. "But… now that you mention it, I see something I want."

"Wh-what?" Ruby asked.

"You." Weiss grabbed her, wrapping her arms around her, kissing her cheek.

"Weiss!" Ruby shoved her off. "What is wrong with you?!"

"I-I don't know." Weiss said, just as horrified. "What's happening to us?!"

"It's the costumes!" Ruby deduced. "They must be making us think we're the creatures we're dressed as."

"Take them off!" Weiss exclaimed, the two struggling to removed them. However, as they removed them, the clothes latched onto them, seemingly binding themselves to their skin.

"I-I can't get it off!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Of course you can't." Cinder chuckled, appearing in front of them in a burst of light. "You've used my magic outfits. They forcibly transform you into monsters, which I then use for their powerful souls to feed my immortality."

"Y-you can't do that!" Weiss exclaimed.

"I've been doing it since before you were born." Cinder smirked, her amber eyes flashing red for a split second. "I have been doing it since before this city was made."

"B-but, this city was made like five hundred years ago." Ruby exclaimed.

"And?" Cinder smirked, stroking Ruby's face. "I told you I used monsters to feed my immortality."

"Y-you're not going to feed on us!" Weiss backed away, pulling on Ruby.

"You're wrong." Cinder smirked, snapping her fingers. Dozens of articles of clothing moved from their places to grab the two teens, holding them down as Cinder flicked two fingers at them, the pile of clothes and the two teens levitating in the air as she walked into the storage in the back. She opened the door to reveal dozens of cages of old, wrinkly humans dressed as the foul monsters, their souls being visibly drained from them and joined into a large cauldron in the center of the room, which smoked and bubbled.

"you'll enjoy rooming with the feline who became mine some time ago." Cinder chuckled, the two being forcible tossed into a cage, the only other occupant being a teenager about their age with cat ears and a tail as well as black thigh high boots and black gloves. She had golden cat's eyes and had a blank stare.

"Bye, you two." Cinder said. "I'll be back to begin draining your souls."

After she left, Ruby and Weiss moved over to the catgirl, said catgirl looking at them.

"What's your name?" Weiss asked her.

"Blake." She said quietly. "Belladonna."

"Well, Blake" Ruby said. "We're gonna escape."

"Don't save… them." Blake nodded at the other prisoners of differing ages, sizes, and genders, but all wrinkly, looking like they'd been drained of all nutrients and life (which, obviously, they had). "They've… suffered too long… their souls are gone… families long gone… need peace."

"fine." Ruby and Weiss sighed. "But, let's get you out."

"Not… possible." Blake said. "Chains…"

"We'll try to get them off." Ruby said. She and Weiss pulled on them, succeeding to pull them from the cage. Blake fell lifelessly onto their arms, but they held her.

"Let's go." Ruby said. "I'll try to get us out."

Ruby pulled on the bars, her costume giving her superhuman strength, allowing her to bend them enough for them to escape.

"Burn this place… down." Blake said.

"How?" Weiss asked.

"Torch." Blake nodded toward one, which was hanging over the cauldron. "Drop it… on the ground… and run."

"Right." Ruby leapt up, grabbing it and dropping on the ground. The place rapidly began to blaze due to its wood flooring and the two teens ran out of the storage room, supporting Blake.

"Where are you going?!" Cinder shrieked in anger as she saw them escape. "How did you get out?!"

"you didn't expect us to and we had super human abilities." Ruby said. "Now, your place will burn."

"No!" Cinder rushed, toward the cauldron, her skin turning an ashy white as thick black cracks began forming on it. Her eyes turned black, her irises becoming red as her hair turned ashy white as well. She began to whiz through time almost as the contents of the cauldron burned, a beam falling on her and causing her to explode into a mass of embers.

"run." Blake muttered, the two pulling her out and onto the streets. The entire costume shop exploded, evaporating into a magic cloud. Ruby and Weiss looked down to see their costumes had been replaced with their regular clothes.

"Wh-what?" they asked, looking down. "It's… as if it never existed."

"Thank… you." Blake muttered. "You have… freed me."

"We'll take you to the hospital." Weiss said. "You'll get help there."

"Sorry." Blake muttered. "I'm not going… there… I must leave… the mortal coil…"

"Wh-what?" Weiss and Ruby asked, shocked. "Why?!"

"I was… there too long." Blake muttered, her body beginning to disintegrate. "Goodbye… friends."

They watched Blake's body disappear and scatter into the wind. The two watched, shedding a few tears for their friend of a short time. After they had, they went to their respective homes.

"Hey, Rubes." Yang said, seeing Ruby walk in. "I got you a cool mermaid costume."

"Thanks Yang." Ruby grinned, kissing her. "Is it girly?"

"You'll see, sis." Yang smirked. "You'll also find out by the type of sex we have."

"Of course I will." Ruby giggled, holding Yang, Yang holding her sister in her strong arms.

"Something up, baby sis?" Yang asked.

"Nothing…" Ruby sighed. "Just… had a weird experience."

"Care to talk about it?" Yang asked.

"Later, Yang." Ruby said. "For now, let's see this costume."

"Alright!" Yang grinned as she grabbed a bag with a costume in it.

 _With Weiss_

Weiss walked into the door, only to be swept off her feet by a tall redhead.

"Hello, beautiful." Pyrrha's voice sang to Weiss.

"Hello, babe." Weiss blushed, kissing her. "How've you been?"

"Good." Pyrrha said, giggling a little. "How was the costume hunt?"

"It was… weird." Weiss said.

"How?" Pyrrha asked.

"you wouldn't believe me if I told you." Weiss said.

 _Somewhere in Vacuo_

"Velvs, kiddo, I'm tellin' ya, we're not gonna find a costume." Coco said, the seven year old rabbit ear wearing girl pulling her hand toward the destination.

"But, me wanna bunny dwess!" Velvet said, continuing to pull her. "Wook, mommy, dere dwess shop!"

Velvet was pointing at a strange looking shop.

"I dunno, Velvet." Coco said, picking her up and holding her. "These seasonal shops always creep me out."

"Pwease, mommy!" Velvet begged.

"Alright, fine." Coco chuckled. "Just this once."

"Yay!" Velvet cheered, hugging Coco.

They entered the shop, a black cat running across their path.

"Seems like a bad omen." Coco said.

"Greetings." A seductive woman in a witch's costume said in a purring accent. "Welcome to the Grimm Desires shop. We guarantee that you'll love our costumes so much you won't be able to take them off. My name is Cinder. Feel free to ask me any questions you may have."

"Isn't a witch cliché?" Coco asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, witches are said to command powerful magic." Cinder said. "Some even being able to obtain immortality. But, no one really knows. But, they say a witch is but a weak mortal without a familiar."

The black cat they saw earlier leapt up onto the counter, Cinder beginning to stroke its fur.

"Isn't that right, Blake?" Cinder cooed, kissing the cat. Coco and Velvet could swear they saw the cat nod and wink as Cinder's seductive smile widened as she led them through the costumes.


	10. Neo's First Halloween

**A/N:** And here's yet another tale for 13 Days of Team HLWN. I hope y'all have been enjoying theses stories, though I'm assuming if you've made it this far you do, lol.

 **Neo's First Halloween (Mama Cinder AU)**

Cinder chuckled as her daughter tried to tug her along faster. Neo was excited to celebrate her first Halloween, even though she was seven now. Cinder hadn't had a chance to take her before, having to struggle to make ends meet. Moving back to Vale City had been what she'd needed, though, as she'd found a good paying job and a nice place that was rent-to-own. So with that she now had a chance to take her seven-year-old daughter Trick-or-Treating; but first they had to pick up Neo's best friend, a little silver-eyed girl named Ruby Rose. This was a bit of an issue for Cinder, as she was falling for the girl's mother, Summer. What made that harder was that Cinder and Summer had grown up together, along with Winter Schnee (now the CEO of Schnee Industries), and Spring Rain. During high school everyone – even the teachers – referred to them as the Four Maidens, after a legend concerning four 'magical' women whose powers matched those of the seasons.

Winter had been the one the help Cinder out, though neither she nor Summer knew what had become of Spring.

"Come _on_ , Mom!" Neo whined, tugging harder at Cinder's arm. She chuckled at her daughter, who'd wanted her brunette hair dyed pink – they'd only managed half of it, which made the seven-year-old even more excited than if it'd been full pink – and picked up her pace. They arrived at Summer's home a few minutes later, where the silver-eyed woman opened the door and smiled warmly at them.

"Cinder, Neo, it's nice to see you two," she said, something in her gaze changing when she looked at Cinder.

"Hello, Miss Rose," Neo said shyly; Summer was, after all, her teacher.

"We're not at school, Neo; you can call me Miss Summer now."

"Can I call you 'mama' when my mom asks you out?" Neo asked, making Summer blink in surprise and Cinder blush in embarrassment, then look down at her shoes.

"It doesn't quite work like that, Neo," the crimsonette woman explained. "Ruby's in the den with Weiss; why don't you go hang out with them for a bit before we all go Trick-or-Treating?"

"Okay!" the brown-/pink-haired girl chirped happily, before running to the den, leaving the two adults alone.

"Summer, I'm so sor-" Cinder began, before her lips became occupied with Summer's own. The other woman pulled back after a few seconds, leaving the amber-eyed woman stunned.

"Looks like I'm not the only one with a crush," she said smugly.

"You….like me, too?" Cinder asked.

"Well, it's more than 'like,' but yeah," Summer replied with a shrug.

"Isn't there something against dating your student's mom?"

"Only if there's something against dating your student's teacher. To be honest, Cin, I've been in love with you since high school."

"What?" Cinder was shocked by this revelation. "But you were-"

"Straight? Not really. If you need a label, I suppose 'bi' would fit, though I favor women over men. And if you're thinking of Qrow, it didn't really work out, though if it weren't for him I wouldn't have Ruby."

"So…..go out with me?" Cinder asked nervously, getting a kiss as her answer.

"Gladly, Cin," Summer said with a smile. "Now. Let's go give Neo her first Halloween."

It turned out to be a pretty good night for everyone. Neo didn't want the night to end, thoroughly enjoying her first Halloween, and the night ended at Weiss's house – for the three girls, anyway. Winter was happy for her friends, as was her husband – who was Summer's ex-boyfriend, Qrow Branwen – and they agreed on Weiss's request for a sleepover (though Ruby was upset that they wouldn't get to eat more than a few pieces of candy). This gave Summer and Cinder the chance to have a first date a lot sooner than they'd thought, although both agreed to nothing more than kisses at first as they wanted to take it slow. The two women went on their date in the costumes they'd dressed in to take the girls Trick-or-Treating: Cinder was dressed as a female version of Alucard from Hellsing Ultimate while Summer had dressed Selene from the Underworld franchise.

All in all, everyone had a good Halloween.

The End


	11. The Sloth

The Sloth

Nora was playing with her pet sloth, Mister Sloth, when she held up the leaves to him to feed him. Unexpectedly, Mister Sloth bit her, shocking her. She jolted back from the unexpected hardness of the bite. She felt herself… changing? And, then she blacked out.

 _Later_

The sloth-like monster stomped through the halls, like a normal person, everybody running in terror. It smelled its prey, licking its lips. Pushing open a door, it saw its target: a large plate of waffles and pancakes. She devoured them messily, falling asleep on them.

The next morning, Ren entered the room, seeing the monster… but not quite the same as it was.

Ren sighed, flicking the monster in the forehead.

"Nora." He said.

"H-huh?" Nora asked, sleepily waking up to see Ren standing over her.

"You were sleepwalking again." Ren said. "And, you got into the waffles again."

"I dreamed I was a sloth monster." Nora grinned wide.

"I see." Ren chuckled. "Well, you should sleep in the room this time."

"Alright." Nora said, licking her lips. For some odd reason, she felt… lethargic. She noticed Mister Sloth sitting next to her, however, she didn't notice the blood one his teeth.


	12. The Monster

The Monster

The seven year old ran down the hallway, the monster chasing after her. Her red hair was behind her as she held her object close to her chest, screaming.

The monster gained on her, definitely faster than her. The girl turned the corner, trying to hide behind the couch that was there. She curled into a ball, trying to keep quiet as the monster walked past, leaving the room.

Once she deemed the coast clear, she looked up, not seeing the monster.

"GOTCHA!" The monster shouted, grabbing her. The girl screamed, struggling to get away. "Now, I'm gonna eat you up!"

"Nooo!" The girl screamed.

"Ruby, stop scaring Crimson." Pyrrha chided the 'monster', aka her wife, Ruby, dressed as the Grimm Reaper.

"But, she's dressed like a cookie!" Ruby whined. "It's so tasty looking!"

"Ruby, we'll be late to trick or treating." Pyrrha sighed.

"Aww." Ruby pouted, setting the girl, Crimson, on the floor.

"Mommy mean." Crimson pouted.

"Aww man." Ruby whined. "Well, let's go."

"Alright." Pyrrha chuckled as the three headed out the door and off to go Trick or Treating.


	13. Supernatural Love

**A/N:** This one-shot was somewhat inspired by the Underworld films, as well as the first Appleseed film in a way.

 **Supernatural Love**

Ruby held a hand to her side, trying to staunch the flow of blood until her natural healing ability could kick in. She stayed in her transformed state, since the wound would be worse in her human form. She ducked into one of the many ruins in the city, hoping to hide her scent amongst the stench of death. The city she was in was one of the many the humans had devastated during one of their many wars, and from the sounds faintly reaching her sensitive ears there was still fighting going on in the city. Like many of her pack, she didn't mind the humans – and even had a few human friends – but she thought that a lot of them were stupid for how their leaders would always start wars for stupid reasons. At least with werewolves like her, their wars were fought for pure survival; after all, vampires had been trying to exterminate or enslave them for millennia. Which is what led Ruby to her current situation, hiding in a ruined building somewhere in Vacuo with a bleeding wound in her side, hoping that the vampire that was hunting her wouldn't find her.

Not many nowadays could recall the reason for the war starting, though there were countless ideas and theories – none of which mattered to the crimsonette werewolf at the moment. With a groan, she pulled her paw from the wound and looked at it. While blood wasn't gushing out of it anymore, it was still flowing more than she liked; not that she liked any blood leaving her body. She covered it up again and sagged against the wall, trying to slow her breathing down. After what she'd suffered through in life already, this wound was nothing. Yet in spite of it all, she still didn't really hate the vampires like most of her kind. She was more than willing to leave them alone if they left her alone, which confused a lot of her pack – and drew the attention of another pack. Specifically, their alpha's son. As the daughter of Summer Rose, a powerful werewolf in her own right, Ruby was – in werewolf society – a hot commodity; after all, hers was one of the matriarchal packs in a patriarchal world and not one male had been able to make Summer submit. When the elder Rose female had been slain by a vampire, her mate – Qrow Branwen – had abdicated his leadership, and ending up going lobo. This put Ruby under the care of the pack's second, Taiyang Xai-Long, as well as making him the new pack leader. This lead to many attempting to 'convince' him to ally with them by offering political support as well as numbers – in exchange for Ruby. One of the most insistent and aggressive was the Winchester Pack, with Cardin doing everything he could to get Ruby; which ranged from what he thought was suave and sensitive behavior in the beginning to outright threats and demands now.

Especially after the events of a year ago, when vampires had ambushed her and Blake – the daughter of the Belladonna Pack's alpha as well as Ruby's mate (with a few exceptions, werewolves generally disregarded anything but heterosexual relationships since they didn't do anything to advance the species, which is why many young male wolves continued to pursue Ruby; at least until she had ripped out one's throat after he'd refused to listen to her refusals and took a liberty with her, then only Cardin persisted).

Which actually led to her current situation; Cardin had gone before leadership of the Valesian werewolf packs to have them make Ruby submit to being his mate. In response to that, Ruby had chosen to travel to Mistral to seek an alliance with one of their packs, knowing that the Mistrali werewolf society was matriarchal and were actually far more liberal. She never made it through Vacuo, though, as the aircraft she was flying on was targeted by Vacuoan Liberation Guard fighters and shot down. Ruby had survived the crash, as had other passengers; one of which was another Valesean werewolf – from _Cardin's pack_. Because of Ruby, he didn't survive past the crash for long, but before she ripped his throat out she'd learned that he'd been sent along to stop her and bring back to her 'mate.' Unfortunately for Ruby, one of the other survivors had been a vampire. When she'd scented her, she'd been hit with a confusing plethora of pheromones that had sent her fleeing.

She'd ended up running into a nest of vampires and getting chased into one of Vacuo's 'urban warzones.' Already hurt from the crash, she'd been further injured from one of the vampires that had persisted in following her, although she'd yanked his heart out of his chest in return. This had led to the exact moment she was in now, hiding from the other three vampires with a bleeding gap in her side. _At this rate_ , she thought, feeling a bit lightheaded, _I'll be joining Blake soon._ She couldn't hear the vampires that had been after her, couldn't scent them any longer. She relaxed as much as she could, considering she was not only in a battle zone but also a foreign werewolf in another pack's territory.

"You aren't easy to follow, you know," a voice said from one side of her. Ruby snapped her head around as the scent of vampire filled her nostrils, causing her to tense and try to move. "Easy now," it went on, "that's a bad wound you have there. It is healing well, but you should not aggravate it." Recognition of the scent hit her, knowing it was the one from the plane. For some reason, the smell caused her to relax…..and to feel safe.

"I know you can't talk in that form, so just listen. Nod if you understand."

Ruby nodded.

"Good. Now, I can wrap up your side once you've shifted back, but you could lose more blood during the process. I didn't really bring a medical kit with me, though I did grab _your_ luggage, you lupine dolt."

Ruby huffed in irritation.

"Don't give me that; _you're_ the one who ran, remember?"

~Supernatural Love~

After a couple of hours, Ruby's injury had healed enough for her turn back with minimal risk of bleeding out. Naturally, she was naked when she changed back, but she had to let the vampire wrap her up before she could – with help – get dressed.

"I'm Ruby Rose," she said.

"Weiss Schnee," the white-haired vampire said, sitting back. "I can see you know my clan name."

"What werewolf doesn't? Your family has been at the forefront of hunting my kind for centuries, you know."

"You don't seem bothered by that."

"Well, your mother and sister – and you – don't seem like that," Ruby replied. "I pay attention to a lot."

"I can imagine."

"Why were you in Vale?"

"It's not really a secret within the supernatural world, but I was meeting with Ozpin, who leads the Beacon Coven. My mother was seeking an alliance with him to gain more political power within the Gathering." She shrugged, sitting back against the wall next to Ruby. "I did get the alliance – without having to exchange my freedom for it."

"You know about that?" Ruby asked, surprised.

"Ozpin did; he's well aware of what goes on with the Vale packs' internal political maneuverings," Weiss explained. She hesitated a moment. "I'm afraid there's nothing that can be done about what that bastard has done; when you return to Vale-"

"-I'm to be Cardin's mate." The disgust in her voice was evident, and the thought made them both want to puke.

"I'm facing a somewhat similar situation back home. A coven leader by the name of Roman Torchwick is seeking to wed into my family via me. My mother is refusing his entreaties, but as with everything there is a way around that. I'm hoping to circumvent him before it comes to that."

"I'll rip his throat out!" Ruby growled, shocking them both at not only her words but her vehemence.

"You know, you're not all that….repulsive, for a werewolf. I must admit, I find your words reassuring rather than offensive. Perhaps it has to do with that attraction we have."

"Wait what?"

"Oh don't tell me you haven't noticed by now. We've been here for hours, talking like old friends since you shifted back, and I can honestly I've never liked anyone like I do you." Weiss smiled. "Though it's far too soon for anything to happen, I am not adverse to a relationship with you."

"We just met, though!"

"And yet you feel safe and…loved…around me, don't you?"

"How did you-"

"Because I feel the same. My mother told me stories of things like this; not werewolves and vampires being together, mind you, but about finding your Lifemate. That one being that calls to your very soul."

"And you think that's us?"

"Even as good as a vampire's senses are, there wouldn't have been any way for me to find you – unless we shared a bond of some sort."

"But….should it even be happening this fast?" Weiss frowned a bit.

"I agree that it is….unusual, highly so," she admitted. "Especially considering we're separate species."

"Maybe that's a good thing," Ruby suggested.

"How so?"

"Well, I know that more than a few werewolves are tired of this constant war with vampires – my pack being one of them – and I imagine there are many vampires that feel the same?"

Weiss nodded.

"So….maybe we could change that? Like you said, when I get back to Vale I'm looking at hell; by the time Taiyang could do anything I'll probably be about to have pups or already have had them. And you are also looking at a loveless future. I mean, yeah, we just really met and all, but maybe….maybe we could come to an agreement? Like, maybe, we could-"

"Are you suggesting that we….become betrothed?"

"Huh?"

"Get engaged, you dolt."

"Oh. Well, yeah, I guess. I mean, we could say it was a pre-existing arrangement or something, like part of the reason you were in Vale was to meet with me and escort me to your home-"

"-to meet with my mother," Weiss finished, getting Ruby's idea. "Our parents could have set something up in secret, considering the general animosity between our races, but your mom died before you could be told about it." The vampire smiled. "You're smarter than you originally looked. Not to say you didn't look smart at all, I mean."

They fall silent for a while, but it was a comfortable one.

"Do you think someone's looking for us?" Ruby asked, breaking the silence.

"I would imagine so. Vampire nobles are sticklers for punctuality, so when the flight didn't arrive on schedule, there's no doubt that my mother dispatched a search unit. Probably led by my elder sister, Winter. As for you, if this Cardin Winchester is as typical of the 'alpha mentality' as many male werewolves seem to be, then he'll regard you as his 'property' and be looking to recover you."

"I'd rather die than be with _him_ ," the crimsonette spat venomously, "even if I _wasn't_ a lesbian."

"That will make our deal easier to handle, as I'm a lesbian as well," Weiss replied.

"Hey, um, does it have to be fake?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we're doing this to prevent our own people from putting us into relationships we don't want, right? Well, why can't we actually do it for real? Set this up, of course, but go on real dates and stuff. Get to know one another, and maybe see if there's really something between us? Besides this…this bond we seem to have?"

Weiss smiled warmly, and leaned forward to kiss Ruby on the cheek.

"I'd love that, Ruby."

The End.

 **E/N:** I liked writing this. Perhaps, if y'all want, I could expand upon this.


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